


stories told around the candlelight

by CobraOnTheCob



Series: Fluffcember 2020 [4]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Candlelight, F/M, Fluff, Fluffcember, Fluffcember 2020, Modern AU, katara is the best storyteller
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-04
Updated: 2020-12-04
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:14:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 758
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27879666
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CobraOnTheCob/pseuds/CobraOnTheCob
Summary: When the power goes out, grab a candle and Katara will tell you a story!
Relationships: Katara/Zuko (Avatar)
Series: Fluffcember 2020 [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2037178
Kudos: 21





	stories told around the candlelight

**Author's Note:**

> Note to self: do not write after having a little bit of a mental breakdown and past midnight, where the perspective flips and you don't realize it. Rectified it the best I could, so if you hit a paragraph that's confusing...rip

The electricity was down in their neighborhood.

Zuko sighed, the kids were rowdy when the lights were out for some reason while he and Katara dug around the drawers for enough candles to last them the entire evening.

“Found them!” Zuko said, pulling out the bunches of candles they had. He quickly called the kids to the living room and lit a candle.

“Since the electricity is out, which includes the Internet, I’ll tell you some stories,” Katara said as their kids fought for the coziest couch spaces, “But only if you calm down.” Instantly, the five kids stopped their fighting and quickly figured out where they wanted to sit.

“What story will it be tonight, Katara?” Zuko asked, and Katara smiled.

“Hmmmm...what do the kids want?” Katara asked, “Pakoda, what story do you want to hear tonight?”

“Something to do with the ocean!” he prompted. Katara tapped her chin.

“Alright...Siqiniq, what do you want to hear?”

“The sun!” 

“Alright...Kama?”

“A young girl with magic!”

“That can be arranged,” Katara said, and Zuko could tell the storytelling gears were turning in her head, “Kya?”

“Every good adventure story has to start with a family, right?” Kya asked, and Katara nodded.

“Indeed,” she said before turning to their eldest daughter, “Takara?”

“And if every story starts with a family, then it needs to end with one as well,” Takara said after a moment. 

“That’s a good start,” Katara said, “Alright, here we go. A young girl with magic powered by the sun lived by the water. Her family loved her, but they could not understand her power. So when she was old enough to do so, she left to go find someone who’d understand her and not fear her power.”

“What powers did she have?” Kya asked. 

“Hmmmm...perhaps plant magic, maybe?” Katara said, and the kids looked at each other.

“Or sun magic!” Siqiniq said.

“Let’s flip the script and say plant magic,” Zuko said, and Katara shrugged, even though he couldn’t see that well in the low light.

“Well?” she asked the crowd of five as they turned and whisper-argued. Takara turned back to her parents and answered.

“Plant magic,” she said, and Katara smiled.

“Well there you have it,” Katara said, “She needed someone to help her refine her abilities…”

Katara wove the story for the kids, and told it long enough for the candle to burn halfway down and for her kids, even Takara, to begin to yawn. When Takara began to show signs of tiredness, she decided to leave them on a cliffhanger.

“It’s time to sleep, sweetie,” she said when Pakoda protested being picked up to go to bed. 

“Awwww, but we were getting to the good part!” Kama said, and Katara picked up the candle to lead the kids to bed.

“The good part will be for another time,” she said, “It’s late and you should all go to bed, even Takara.”

“Come on,” Zuko encouraged, “Let’s all go to bed, even if you don’t feel tired.”

“We’re not!” Siqiniq said, and then Pakoda yawned loudly. Siqiniq glared at his little brother. 

“Not...sleepy…” Pakoda protested. Takara stared at Siqiniq in the eyes and yawned.

“Not you too!” Siqiniq cried. Takara shrugged and just slipped into her room. 

“She just wants you to have a good night’s rest,” Katara said, ushering him into his room, and Zuko carried Pakoda into his room. He tucked the four-year-old into bed, and whispered a little good night to him before stepping out in the hallway, where Katara stepped out of Siqiniq’s room. Both said their good nights to the girls, and he took the candle from her and blew it out, leaving them in the dark.

“Well, shall we go to bed, then?” Zuko asked. 

“Might as well,” she whispered back, “No electricity, no heater. We might have to cuddle closely.”

“Haven’t done that in awhile,” Zuko said, gently kissing her temple as they got into their room. 

“I miss it,” Katara said, cuddling close in bed as they made themselves cozy under the sheets, “Being cold enough to cuddle.”

“Same here,” he murmured, “Come on, it’ll be a few hours, let’s be warm together.”

Her soft, even breathing told him she was already drifting off into sleep, and he could tell he was following her into the land of dreams. It was easy - the warmth of the sheets, the soft, even breathing of his wife, and the dark blanket of a winter night easily led him to drift off and sleep.


End file.
